The price of tomatoes has skyrocketed all across the country. The rates are touching as high as Rs 250 per kg. According to traders, tomato prices are on the rise as their production got hit due to heavy rains in some growing areas and heat waves last month. This dramatic price surge unfolded in just a matter of days which caught everyone off guard. In metro cities, retail tomato prices remained highest at Rs 152 per kg in Kolkata, followed by Rs 120 per kg in Delhi, Rs 117 per kg in Chennai and Rs 108 per kg in Mumbai.
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Amid all of this, a new thing has emerged which has been deemed as ‘tomato theft’. Many bizarre incidents have surfaced of people stealing tomatoes.
Tomato Vehicle Robbery in Bengaluru
A vehicle transporting 2,000 kg of tomatoes to a market was robbed by miscreants in Bengaluru. Nobody has been identified as of now. It happened when the farmer was transporting his produce from Hiriyur town in Chitradurga to the Kolar market. Three people followed the vehicle in their car. Further, they assaulted the farmer and the driver that their vehicle had been hit. They demanded money, got the amount transferred, took the tomatoes and drove away.
Tomatoes Worth Rs 2.5 Lakh Stolen in Karnataka
A Karnataka-based farmer claimed that tomatoes worth Rs 2.5 lakhs have been stolen from her farm in the Hassan district. Dharani grew tomatoes on two acres of land and said that they planned to cut the crop and transport it to market as the prices were soaring. “We incurred huge losses in bean harvest and had taken loans to grow tomatoes. We had a good harvest and prices were also high. Apart from taking 50-60 bags of tomatoes, the thieves also destroyed the remaining standing crop," Dharani told ANI.
Another Robbery in Telangana
Thieves in Karnataka made off with nearly 20 kg of tomatoes and 5 kg of green chillies from a vegetable vendor’s shop in Dornakal village. This is located in Mahbubnagar district of Telangana. As per the police, the vendor named B. Prakash had left the tomatoes worth Rs 2,400, and the green chillies, worth Rs 490, covered with a polythene sheet at his kiosk in the Gandhi Chowk vegetable market before leaving. However, when he returned, he found out that the produce had been stolen. He approached the police station and filed a complaint regarding the incident.
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Measures Being Taken
As there is a surge in such cases, many people have also started taking protective measures. Now that tomatoes are a luxury, farmers have made top-class arrangements for their heap of tomatoes. A farmer from Akki Aluru of Haveri, Muttappa, had just harvested tomatoes from his farm and installed a CC camera at the local market. The camera is connected to a battery and helps him keep an eye. “People come and buy tomatoes from me because they are the best ones in this market. But while I will be busy attending to other customers, some miscreants may just grab some tomatoes and I wouldn’t know. I don’t want to lose out on anything. So made this CC camera arrangement. This is for my own safety” explained Muttappa.
